With 2019 on the horizon (wasn’t it just summer time?), the importance of looking ahead has never been greater. The new year brings fresh opportunities to recognize the importance of planning for the future. As strategic conversations about financials take place, marketing and media often gets pushed to the side to make room for the bottom line. One of the best ways to set your business up for communication success in 2019 is planning ahead. You can focus all your attention on dollar signs, but if your audience isn’t informed about all the awesome things you’re doing year-round, then where are those dollars and cents going to come from?

Sensational Seasonal Shout Outs

You know your organization and its culture like the back of your hand. You know the dates that your members/clients hold dear, as well as the holidays throughout the year that you celebrate together. One of the simplest ways to get ahead and be on the forefront of people’s minds all year is posting content for those special days. This doesn’t necessarily mean a social media shout out every time, but can include blog posts, friendly email drop-ins and even small aesthetic updates on your company website.

Assessing Your Assets

Presentations can pop up, so be ready in advance! Is your PowerPoint template updated and ready to “wow” an audience at a moment’s notice? Do you have high-resolution photography on hand to help emphasize a presentation or social post? Something as simple as an easily accessible photo library can alleviate a lot of pressure down the road. The little things you do ahead of time make a last minute sprint to the finish line a little easier and more professional.

A picture is worth 1,000 words

Whether it’s sharing good news, telling a story or getting grant funding, the impact that visuals have on content is profound. When our friends in Georgetown, Texas entered the Bloomberg Philanthropies U.S. Mayors Challenge, they tapped us to help bring their (literal) million-dollar idea to life through beautiful visuals. Paired with their well-crafted presentation, the results speak for themselves! Take a moment to think about future milestones or projects you want your constituents to be invested in and (let us) ponder how you can really make those materials “pop.”

Template for Success

Although content is a timely matter, you can create templates for newsletters ahead of time, which makes life in the long run so much easier. There should be a roadmap that your organization follows for each publication so writers and/or designers are confident in their ideas and content when the time comes to submit their pieces. No matter if it’s a monthly, quarterly or annual publication, digital or print, life will be a lot easier when you plan ahead.

As a brand new year dawns, it’s time we emphasize the importance of creating an arsenal for marketing opportunities and planning for the future before it happens.